


Under Haunted Skies I See You

by shimmeringswift



Series: The Things We Hide [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Bottom Gavin Reed, Chloe and Gavin are Close, Coffee, Cold Weather, Connor and Richard are twins, Dick Jokes, Discord - Freeform, Discussion of Abortion, Disney, F/F, F/M, Fitness Nut Gavin, French, Gavcats - Freeform, Gavin Reed Being Less of an Asshole, Gavin Reed doesn't smoke, Gavin Scolding the Gavcats, Gavin Speaks a SHIT TON of languages, Gavin is Healthy, Healthy Gavin, Here's Where the Fun Really Starts, Hickeys, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Jogging, Kamski's White Wolf, Knives, Language, Lots of Fucking Coffee, M/M, Music, Musician!Gavin, Musician!Tina, Nines - Freeform, Phone Calls, Restless!Gavin, Restlessness, Richard - Freeform, Richard Arkait, Safewording, Sensuality, Sex Jokes, Sharing Clothes, Social Media, Streamer!Gavin, Streamer!Tina, Strong Language, Sub Gavin Reed, Teasing, The Gavcats know no boundaries, The White Wolf, Tina Chen is an Awesome Friend, Tina's a Nosy Bitch, Torture, Totally Invasive Fandoms, Twins, Twitch - Freeform, Twitter, Uncle Gavin, Violence, Violinist!Gavin, We Call RK900 Richard in this House, We actually call him Nines as well, We never fucking see him smoke in the game but apparently it's accepted as fanon now, crude language, innuendos, ish, mafia!au, phck, streamer!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-09-30 08:48:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17220743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimmeringswift/pseuds/shimmeringswift
Summary: Gavin glowered at her, but wore down under her stare. “…Did you post the video?”Her grin was answer enough. He covered his face with his hands, pink flaming across his cheeks. Her voice was singsong when she replied, “Yep. All of the Gavcats are in love with him. They’re calling him ‘Nines.’ Wanna know why?”“No, I really don’t.”Tina ignored him. “They all think he has a nine-inch dick.”His hands dropped from his face with horror. “Oh my God. Please tell me you’re joking.”





	1. "You Have the Libido of a Fucking Teenager"

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the playlist for this fic series guys: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/15PLtDllpr2kCk80Y3Amwz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title for this part comes from Adele's Turning Tables!
> 
> Songs linked in the chapter, as usual, but here they are as well:
> 
> Harry Potter Theme (Hedwig's Theme) - Violin Cover - Taylor Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki8hN7AWsZ4
> 
> Studio Ghibli | Relaxing Piano and Violin Collection [HD]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQOtqCeJEX0

It was so fucking cold. It was probably his own fault he was this cold though, Richard told him he should have blow-dried his hair at the hotel. He didn’t have his coat either. Gavin had made the stupid mistake of leaving it downstairs with Tina and Hank the night prior, and one of them had probably brought it home for him; just like they had with his music supplies. With a glance down at himself, Gavin couldn’t fight a broad grin from spreading across his face.

Richard had insisted Gavin wear a pair of his sweats because did he really want everyone to be giving him those looks as he walked home in a sweat-stained tuxedo? And Richard had given him that fixed dom stare until he’d conceded (Gavin at least promised to return the clothes). So, he was currently wearing a pair of loose sweatpants (fuck him for being so much taller than Gavin) that were incredibly comfy and an oversized sweatshirt with _Arkait Industries_ across it. Whatever the fuck Arkait Industries was.

He’d gotten a bag at the hotel to put his belongings in and hailed a cab around noon (after about three more rounds of sex). As Gavin walked up to his apartment, the soreness began to settle into his lower back. It had been a good fucking night last night. And this morning. A chill ran down his spine at the cold edge to the air. He tried the door to his apartment to find it unlocked. When he opened it, Tina was reclining on the sofa in his living room wearing sweats and a messy bun. Trashcan was curled up on her lap. A burst of warm air greeted him as he walked inside.

“I fed your fucking cat, so now I get details on your night with tall dark and dreamy.” She demanded, sitting up. Her eyes widened when she saw him. Her eyes nailed onto the spot where the sweatshirt hung just a bit too loose around his collarbone. “Shit, Gavin!”

“What?” He groaned, closing the door behind him. He walked into the kitchen and set the bag on the table before crossing over to the coffeepot. Coffee. He would need coffee for this conversation. With a press of a few buttons, coffee was brewing. Turning around, Gavin crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter.

“He did a fucking number on you. And that’s just the fucking shit I can see on your neck, and you’re fucking limping!” Tina was positively giddy. She was enjoying this _far_ too much for his liking.

Gavin glowered at her, but wore down under her stare. “…Did you post the video?”

Her grin was answer enough. He covered his face with his hands, pink flaming across his cheeks. Her voice was singsong when she replied, “Yep. All of the Gavcats are in love with him. They’re calling him ‘Nines.’ Wanna know why?”

“No, I really don’t.”

Tina ignored him. “They all think he has a nine-inch dick.”

His hands dropped from his face with horror. “Oh my God. Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope! And that isn’t even the worst of it.” She popped the ‘p’ and withdrew her phone. Tina pointed the screen towards him, Discord pulled up and flooded. His mouth parted and he tried to speak, but no words came. She switched to her Twitter account and showed him the hashtags. It only got worse.

Gavin turned around and grabbed his coffee. He grabbed a spoon and measured out some sugar before getting the almond milk out from the fridge. Pouring some into his coffee, Gavin sighed. “I will be having an impromptu stream to yell at the Gavcats. Jesus. Can’t they at least keep this shit in the private media platforms? Fuck.”

“What’s tall, dark, and handsome’s name?”

Placing the milk back into the fridge, Gavin threw Tina a tired grin. He stared at her. “Ten bucks says you’ll laugh when I tell you.”

She rubbed a hand down Trashcan’s back, pondering. “Deal.”

“Richard.” His grin didn’t fade as he waited a moment for it to settle in. Tina’s eyebrows scrunched some. “I got dick from Dick.”

A snort of laughter bubbled from her as Gavin turned toward the medicine cabinet. Thank fucking God she didn’t say anything when he popped a few ibuprofen. He was too tired for that shit. “Okay, okay. That’s hilarious. I’ll get you the money later. Mind if I join the stream? Since I’m here.”

“Yeah, come on, T.” He took his coffee mug and nodded toward his streaming room. Gavin paused, staring at Tina for a moment. “You got my violin and stuff, right? Or did Hank grab it?”

 “Nah, I brought it. I set it all up in your music room. I know you have a tendency to be OCD about that shit, so I just left it on the piano bench.” Tina stood from her seat on the couch, scooping Trashcan up in her arms. The cat meowed at her and she smiled at him. They walked down the hallway and through the first door on the left. Gavin pulled his phone out from his pocket and hopped onto twitter.

                                                                                                                                               

 ** _Gavin Reed @captaindipshit tweeted:_** _Gavcats, Tina told me some of the things being said about last night. We’re going to talk about it. Hop on Twitch. After our chat,_ if you behave, _we might do something fun._

**_Tina Chen @Detectina liked your tweet!_ **

**_Tina Chen @Detectina quoted your tweet_ ** _: Sorry guys. I tattled. Gavin isn’t too happy about what’s been said about tall, dark, and handsome. I’ll convince him to have some mercy! >> “Gavcats, Tina told me some of the things being said about last night. We’re going to talk about it. Hop on Twitch. After our chat, _ if you behave _, we might do something fun.”_

 

With a sigh, Gavin entered the streaming room, Tina close behind him. They took their seats in the two computer chairs at the desk on the far side of the room next to the window. He set his coffee on the desk. All that was really in the room was the large desk that took up the expanse of the wall parallel to the door. On top of it sat two computer monitors, a microphone, and his other various streaming devices. “T, you want a headset? Or nah?”

“Let’s do headsets. I can DJ, yeah?” She reached for the computer mouse and loaded his Twitch page to start streaming. When the stream was live, she pulled up his Spotify and started to creep through. Gavin put on his headset and put Tina’s on for her. Tina glanced up at the webcam as viewers started to pour in. “What do you guys want in the background?”

“Just put on some of my shit.” Gavin took his black cat from Tina’s arms and put him in his lap. His eyes flitted over the chat as [Hedwig’s Theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki8hN7AWsZ4) drifted in through the speakers. “Something fun to listen to while everyone filters in.” He waved at the camera. “Hey guys. How’s it going?”

The fifteen people who were already in the chat began to spam him.

_dipshitqueen: shit Gavin look at the size of that hickey on your neck_

_gavinisgay: since when do you support arkait industries_

_catkingdom: wtf is arkait industries_

_lastpieceofpie: fucking hell that massive hickey_

_fucktheknights: gavin wtf_

_moneyrunner: @catkingdom Arkait Industries (AI for short) is a bio-med-tech company that is one of the wealthiest in the world, just below Stern Inc, which is just below Kamski Corp (also known as Cyberlife). There’s a new up and comer that’s just below AI called Jericho. AI is actually run by the two sons of Amanda Stern (CEO of Stern Inc.) who ditched the company for an unknown reason_

_dontkilltheturtles: @moneyrunner why the fuck are you so smart_

_moneyrunner: I majored in biomedical engineering and actually work at Cyberlife??_

_Lastpieceofpie: wtf Runner why didn’t I know this_

“That’s so cool, Runner. Who knew we had a Brainiac amongst us?” Tina switched the music to his [Ghibli Cover Collection](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQOtqCeJEX0), most of which was collabs. He nodded at her, approving the choice before turning back to the camera. His gaze flickered to the chat numbers. Majority of his followers were here. He had a few thousand followers, so the numbers were about right. Only about five hundred were watching, and even less than that were chat-active followers. “How’s the audio, Gavcats?”

When he got positive affirmations, he stroked a hand through Trashcan’s fur and the cat let out a long purr. Gavin sighed, staring dead at the camera. “All right, let’s get this shit over with.

“I’m okay with you guys being involved in my life, and in fact, I love it. Last night, however, got a bit out of hand.” He combed a hand through his hair and sighed. “I don’t even mind you guys asking about my love life. I saw the Discord channel _and_ the Twitter, and some of the things that were said aren’t okay.”

_dontkilltheturtles: that fucking hickey though_

“See, I don’t even mind shit like that, dontkilltheturtles. I don’t care about you guys asking. I love getting to know all of you, and in turn, I feel you should be able to do the same. It’s only fair.” He paused, sparing a glance at Tina. “But, I think you guys need to tone it the fuck down. I didn’t intend for T to post that video last night, but she did. _And that’s fine_. How you guys reacted was not. The nine-inch dick jokes were okay, and actually kind of funny. But the rest of the comments I saw were not nearly as nice.

“You guys forget. I’m a professional musician that plays at very well-known companies or events with big-name people at them.” He tugged on the sweatshirt. “Like it was said before, this sweatshirt is not mine. It was Richard’s. So, there is a very good chance he works at Arkait Industries, or Stern Inc., or even Cyberlife. You all need to be respectful of that. I don’t want this video to go viral and ruin his career. If you’re going to say those things, don’t do it in the fuckin’ channel’s social media. My channel’s social media is all public, so do it in private, or in the group chat, or in the _private_ Discord channel, or some shit. Got it?”

_dipshitqueen: you fucking got dick from dick_

_dontkilltheturtles: yeah, sorry gavin_

_moneyrunner: we’ll be more careful about watching our mouths_

_gavinisgay: sorry gavin_

_dipshitqueen: it’s kinda my fault, Gavin_

_dipshitqueen: I ended up convincing the discord to get wasted last night_

_dipshitqueen: we all were drunk and celebrating_

_dipshitqueen: then the video was uploaded and we all went off the rails_

“Fuck, guys. All is forgiven. Don’t worry about it. Just be more careful with your fucking words.” Gavin paused, squinting at the chat. “Traci, what were you celebrating?”

_dipshitqueen: Camille and I got approved for that baby program thing for lesbian couples. We should be able to have our own baby. It’ll take a while for us to get it all done and go through pre-pregnancy prep, but we got approved._

“Oh my God, Traci! That’s amazing!” Tina beamed at the camera.

Gavin’s anger deflated in a heartbeat. “That’s great news, Traci. Congrats! You’re both going to be great moms.”

_fucktheknights: can we ask invasive sex life questions now?_

Gavin sighed, rolling his eyes and motioning with his hand. “That’s fine, go ahead.”

_dontkilltheturtles: was he good?_

_moneyrunner: how big was his dick?_

_gavinisgay: did you guys get kinky?_

_lastpieceofpie: you totally bottomed right?_

_catkingdom: how many positions did you do it in?_

_welovetrashcan: how many times did you guys bang? How many times did he get you off?_

_dipshitqueen: did you have shower sex?_

_moneyrunner: did you have to do the walk of shame?_

“For fuck’s sake!” Gavin threw his head back and groaned. He shifted in his chair and Trashcan meowed in protest. “I guess I’ll just go in order.”

He reached forward and grabbed his coffee. He needed it. Gavin chugged down coffee and set the mug down before turning back to the camera. A small grin flashed across his face as he recalled bits and pieces from the night before, “Dontkilltheturtles, he was more than just good. He was fan-fucking-tastic. It was ridiculously hot sex. Moneyrunner, I’m not going to answer that because I don’t keep a fuckin’ ruler on me and measure the dick of every guy I have sex with.”

_moneyrunner: fine. be that way dipshit_

_catkingdom: was he above average? can you answer that one?_

“Catkingdom, I can answer that one. He was probably above average. Not gonna lie: the nickname you guys gave him is probably about right.” Gavin winked at the camera.

_dipshitqueen: fucker you can’t even fucking wink right_

“Traci, I will kick you.” He stuck his tongue out childishly and Tina laughed.

“I won’t let him, Trace.” She leaned over and shoved Gavin. “This is great for me. He wouldn’t tell me any of this when he got home this morning.”

_lastpieceofpie: do you guys live together?_

“Nah,” Tina answered, shaking her head. “I live downstairs. Same apartment complex though. I was here because I fed Trashcan this morning.” Her eyes twinkled. “Gavin didn’t come home last night.

“Phcking hell, Tina.”

_disphitqueen: <911.emote> <queentina.emote> <phck.emote> _

_lastpieceofpie: he was getting some of that horizontal tango <dancedancedance.emote> <dancegavindance.emote>_

_fucktheknights: <gavcats.emote> <tmi.emote> <weknownoboundaries.emote>_

_welovetrashcan: <trashcan.emote>_

_moneyrunner: <bringmethegay.emote>_

_gavinisgay: <bringmethegay.emote> <gavin.emote> <kinkyfunshit.quote.emote> <nocontext.emote> <bringmethegay.emote> <weknownoboundaries.emote> <phck.emote>_

“I hate you guys sometimes.” Gavin sighed. “Next question! Did we get kinky? Well, you can decide on that. I’m not saying a word.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Did I bottom? Lastpieceofpie, I’m not going to answer that.”

“I will!” Tina chimed in with a grin. She turned to Gavin and stuck out her tongue before looking back to the camera. Pointing at the camera, she continued, “He totally bottomed! He’s been limping real bad since he got back. And I’m pretty sure they got kinky. When he goes to have a one night stand, he doesn’t normally come back and keep adjusting in his chair every two minutes.”

Red spread across Gavin’s face.

_fuckthenights: Tina got him scarlet!! <blushinggavin.emote>_

_lastpieceofpie: the rare blushing gavin in his natural habitat_

_welovetrashcan: wow he got red real fucking fast_

_moneyrunner: I wonder if that’s what Gav looks like when he’s in bed_

Tina burst into laughter. Gavin shook his head, trying to fight down his blush. Trashcan leapt off of his lap and went to go lay on the floor. “Next question!”

Tina read it off. “Catkingdom asked: how many positions did you guys do it in?”

A shot of arousal burst through Gavin. Thank fuck his lap was underneath the desk. His eyebrows scrunched as he recalled his time in the hotel. He counted on his fingers _There was two last night, then this morning in bed, then against the wall, then in the shower, then on the bathroom counter…_

“Shit, Gavin!” Tina laughed.

“Six.” A smug smirk spread across his face. “Six positions.”

“Welovetrashcan asked: How many times did you guys bang? How many times did you get off?”

“We love Trashcan too.” Gavin waggled his eyebrows and shot finger guns at the camera. “We had sex four times, I think. We had a lot of sex. Once last night and three times this morning. It was fucking amazing. I got off six different times. Fuckin’ hell, did he know what he was doing.”

_dipshitqueen: that explains why you look so fucking tired_

_dontkilltheturtles: jesus fucking christ gavin_

_lastpieceofpie: you have the libido of a fucking teenager_

“No, lastpieceofpie. Richard was just that fucking hot and that fucking good.”

_catkingdom: who is this Richard of which you speak_

_fucktheknights: we call him Nines_

Gavin snorted. “Well, his name is Richard. I can indulge you for a bit, I suppose. _Nines_ was fucking good.”

_dontkilltheturtles: are you guys going to bang again?”_

“I have no clue if we’re going to bang again. We might. I gave ‘im my number.”

“Disphitqueen asked: Did you have shower sex?”

“Yep. It was awesome. Last question.” Gavin nodded at the screen. “Lastpieceofpie asks: he was fucking hot. Do you have a picture to share of him? Not nsfw or anything.”

“No, I don’t think Gavin does.” Tina supplied. “But, I do have a few. I’ll upload them later.”

“Now, questions are done! It’s game time!” Gavin clapped his hands together. “Who’s ready for some DA:6?”

 

 

_“I have a job for you.”_

“Tell me the details and I’ll tell you if I’ll take it. But for all intents and purposes, I’m out.”

_“We have a traitor in our midst. A man named Isaiah Weatherford. He’s been working with Stern Inc. and needs to be shown what we do to traitors.”_

“I won’t do it.”

_“Now, now. We both know that isn’t true. You are my White Wolf, after all. The insatiable blood lust burning in your veins won’t fade. But, this will help.”_

“You fucking owe me, Kamski.”

A low chuckle from the other line. _“If you say so. I’ll have Allen send the coordinates to you and be your eyes on the job.”_

“I fucking hate Allen and you know that.”

_“It’s him, or go in blind.”_

“Oh, fuck you.”

_“I’ll await your call back to let me know it’s finished.”_


	2. The Thoughts I Hope You'll See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Gavin looked up, the crosswalk light shone a bright shade of green. He crossed quickly, trying to relocate Richard in his sights again. The man was gone. Gavin tried to tell himself that his shoulders didn’t drop with disappointment. He didn’t think about how he had wanted to see Richard again, or about how he wanted to fuck Richard again. He didn’t think about the way the man had completely _wrecked_ Gavin into submission. He didn’t think about it.
> 
> It was just a one night stand, right?
> 
> Sure, Richard said he would call, but everyone says that. It’d already been almost three weeks. No calls, no texts. He really shouldn’t expect a phone call at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is inspired by Sam Smith's Make It To Me.
> 
> Songs for this chapter:
> 
> **Emeli Sande - Daddy [Lyrics Video] : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bZr0Cdnkdg**
> 
> **Shawn Mendes - Nervous : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGzy8FE1Rhk**
> 
>  
> 
> _The scene with Chloe, the italics are French! If you guys prefer, I can include the actual French and put the translation next to it (which was how I originally had it, but I thought this would be easier). Just let me know how you like it!_
> 
>  
> 
> **  
> _Edit: The scene with Chloe was actually changed back to the way I originally had it._  
>  **  
> 

_Message from Chloe, received at 7:30am: Hey, Gavin! Want to go get a cup of coffee? I’ll have Jeanette with me. She misses seeing her Uncle Gavin!_

_Message sent at 7:34am: Yeah, I’m down, Chlo. Today good? Maybe around 9?_

_Message from Chloe, received at 7:36am: Perfect, I’ll text you the address of a place._

Gavin looked up from his phone, his breath coming in short pants as he slowed from a jog to a walk. He tucked his phone back into his pocket after Chloe texted him the address. After a moment, he sped back up into a jog. Normally, he would jog with Tina, but he’d been jogging more than usual lately. It was her off day, anyway. She’d noticed when he’d started going on daily jogs as opposed to his normal three times a week regime. The jogging was in addition to his other workout schedule, which was high intensive shit about four times a week.

There was a deep burning inside of his gut. He couldn’t even sit still at the dinner he’d gone to with his brother last night. He had been teased relentlessly about it. Gavin huffed out a sigh, the air from his breath puffing out white in the cold air. Sweat spread across his forehead. Hank was even starting to notice. They’d had a performance the night before the last and Hank had raised an eyebrow at his music choices, saying nothing until their break. During the break, Hank had told him he was playing a bit more aggressively than normal.

It was becoming a problem. Even the fucking Gavcats noticed his excess energy during streams. Fucking hell.

He increased the speed of his jogs, the familiar burn settling into his lungs. He’d been jogging for about an hour now, and a glance at a nearby street sign told him he was now in west Detroit. Fuck. He lived in the middle of Detroit, so it wasn’t uncommon for him to jog in different areas of the city. The only places he ever jogged were north and east, however. South and west Detroit was a big no-no. He probably wasn’t very far into west Detroit, and this part of the city wasn’t shady, so he should be fine for today.

Panting, Gavin stopped. He braced his hands on his knees to catch his breath. While he recovered, he surveyed the area. It wasn’t incredibly busy this morning, but the streets were packed with cars and traffic seemed to be bad. Not many shops were open this early either. The blaring sounds of traffic coupled with the early morning fog created a good setting for his morning jog. It was nice this time of morning. West Detroit wasn’t too bad.

As he caught his breath, Gavin straightened back out. He really needed to get some water. Maybe there was a convenience store nearby? He popped up onto his tiptoes, scanning the streets for any form of corner store. It took him a moment before he spotted one across the street. Awesome. Gavin shuffled through the small crowd on the sidewalk to the crosswalk. Right as he was about to cross, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure on the other side of the street.

Tall, dark, and handsome.

Honestly, it was the fucking hair that tipped Gavin off. He snorted as he tried to get a better view. Yep. It was Richard alright. Glancing down at himself, Gavin winced. He didn’t look horrible, though he wasn’t sure how good he actually looked. His sweatpants hung low on his hips, tied in place by the drawstrings and his long-sleeved workout shirt clung to his body with sweat. His face was damp with sweat, and his hair was messy. His sneakers added a bit of blue to the gray attire. He didn’t look bad; he actually looked pretty damn good.

Ah, fuck it. What was he getting nervous for?

When Gavin looked up, the crosswalk light shone a bright shade of green. He crossed quickly, trying to relocate Richard in his sights again. The man was gone. Gavin tried to tell himself that his shoulders didn’t drop with disappointment. He didn’t think about how he had wanted to see Richard again, or about how he wanted to fuck Richard again. He didn’t think about the way the man had completely _wrecked_ Gavin into submission. He didn’t think about it.

It was just a one night stand, right?

Sure, Richard said he would call, but everyone says that. It’d already been almost three weeks. No calls, no texts. He really shouldn’t expect a phone call at this point.

The clockwork of his mind ground to a halt.

Only three weeks and Gavin was already this restless?

What the hell was wrong with him?

Gavin shook his head. He needed to get a grip. He wasn’t going to keep thinking about Richard and he certainly wasn’t going to keep trying to think of ways to run into him.

But, if Gavin’s jogging route ended up coming through west Detroit a little more often… Well, no one had to know.

 

 

Gavin got back to his apartment with less time leftover than he would’ve liked. He had to take an extra speedy shower. Scrambling to put on his clothes, he shoveled down a protein bar. Jeans and a green hoodie, topped off with converse and a dark blue umbrella. He pulled his leather jacket on and was out the door in minutes. The cab ride down to the coffee shop his sister-in-law had picked out was short, and he rushed inside as the rain came down.

“ _Bonjour_ , Gavin!” Chloe’s warm French accent greeted him as he walked through the door. Gavin turned and waved at Chloe, where she’d stood from her seat, which was marked by her navy pea coat draped over the back. There was a stroller settled next to her by the table. He walked over to her and hugged her before squatting next to the stroller where his niece was. Nettie giggled upon seeing him and stuck out her hands with grabbing motions.

“Mind if I?” Chloe nodded her consent and Gavin unbuckled Nettie from the stroller. He picked her up and took his seat across from Chloe. The toddler laid her head on his shoulder. Rubbing her back, Gavin smiled at Chloe. She was glowing today. Her face, though it had miniscule amounts of makeup, shone with a brightness she hadn’t had for some time. Not that she was unhappy, per se, she just seemed happier than normal. “How’re you doing, Chloe? How’s Nettie?”

 _“Je vais bien, merci d'avoir demandé.” I'm doing well, thank you for asking._ The French poured smoothly from her mouth and she smiled at him, her blue eyes twinkling. She pushed a paper cup in front of him and he nodded his thanks. Chloe lifted her paper cup to her mouth and took a sip of her drink. A quick scan of her and Gavin smiled a bit. She really did look pretty today. The fairness of her complexion was brought out by her baby blue fold-over sweater which she had paired with jeans. She wore her hair back in a ponytail, which she spun once with her finger before continuing. _“Nous allions bientôt la commencer à l'école maternelle, mais nous avons décidé de ne pas le faire Elie s'inquiète.” We were going to start her in preschool soon, but decided against it. Elijah worries._

“Are we speaking in French today?” Gavin raised an eyebrow. Part of the reason he got along so well with Chloe is because they spoke French together. With Chloe originally being from France, the blonde woman often got nostalgic and homesick. It had been particularly bad a year or so after she’d married Elijah. Gavin had gone out of his way to learn French to keep her from feeling so alone. Chloe had bawled when he proceeded to have a discussion with her in French. Elijah had never learned French though, so it was their thing. It was what Gavin and Chloe always bonded over. He was torn from his thoughts by Nettie drawing back to pat his cheeks. He stuck out his tongue at her. She giggled. The toddler was an exact replica of Chloe, but she’d gotten her father’s hair and ears. If Gavin had to pick one person he loved the most on this earth, it would be Nettie. “I can do French. I’m a bit rusty, but here goes nothing.”

He cleared his throat. _“Mon frère a toujours été inquiet. Il me chouchoute toujours. Ne t'en fais pas, Chloé. Nettie ira bien.”_ _My brother has always been a worrier. He still coddles me. Don't fret over it, Chloe. Nettie will be fine._

 _“Très bien!”_ Chloe clapped her hands together once, applauding him for his job well done. She offered him a tight-lipped smile, one he’d seen before. She agreed with him, and the subtext of his words, but wouldn’t dare to voice a word against her husband. When she spoke, it was back in English, though her accent still coated the words like honey. “I miss seeing you, Gavin. Nettie does too. I wish we were able to see each other more often.”

With his free hand, Gavin lifted his coffee to his mouth. A soft moan escaped him as the flavor washed over his tongue. Chloe always knew how to order a damn good coffee. He set the paper cup down and reached for her hand, where she was fiddling with her wedding band. “I miss you too. I miss both of you.”

“Elijah is hosting an event at the house,” Chloe offered, a timid smile sliding into her features. “You are more than welcome to come, if you’d like. I would love to have you there.”

Gavin clicked his tongue in thought. “We’ll see, Chlo. Get me the details and we’ll talk.”

She drew her hand away to wrap around her cup, her fingers fiddling with the teabag hanging down the side.

Wait.

Chloe doesn’t drink tea. She’s such a fucking coffee snob that she gets her coffee imported from Italy (Gavin really isn’t one to judge: he does it too). She doesn’t drink tea unless…

“Chloe,” Gavin’s eyes widened. “Are you-”

 _“Enceinte? Oui.” Pregnant? Yes._ She put her finger over her lips before lowering it back down. _“Je n'ai pas encore dit à Elijah.”_ _I haven't told Elijah yet._

She paused. Gavin angled his head, his eyebrows knitting together. Chloe avoided his gaze and let out a soft sigh. He broke the short silence. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

The expression in her eyes when he met her gaze… She was scared. Scared and lost. When she nodded, the movement was so small that Gavin barely even saw it.

_“Je n'ai pas encore décidé si je voulais le garder.”_

_I haven't decided if I want to keep it yet._

Gavin froze.

“Oh.”

He blinked and took a deep breath. He reached forward, taking her hand again. His voice was a whisper when he said, “Just know, I support you whatever decision you make, okay?”

She nodded, tears filling her eyes. She squeezed his hand tightly before releasing it. _“Je t'aime, Gavin.”_

“I love you too, Chloe.”

 

 

Gavin couldn’t take it anymore. It’d been a month and a half since he’d slept with Richard at that stupid biomedical technologies convention (wow, was that really how he was measuring time now?), and Gavin had never been this wound up. Extra energy churned inside of him, day and night. He worked out twice a day, seven days a week and it was starting to scare people. Tina had even called and told Hank. She was on the verge of calling a therapist. It was… frustrating.

A groan pushed through his mouth as he finished his round of sit-ups. Right as he finished, the Darth Vader theme blared from his phone. With a sigh, Gavin reached for his phone. He stood from his seat on the ground. He walked from his living room into the kitchen to get some water as he answered the call. “Hello?”

_“Hey, kid.”_

He let out a long breath and rubbed his temples with his free hand. Gavin turned his phone on speaker, setting it on the kitchen counter. “Let me guess, Tina called you?”

Gavin walked over to the cabinet and took out a glass. He turned on the tap, filling it with water. His fingers drummed on the counter as he downed the water. Gavin filled the cup again and turned off the tap.

 _“Yeah, she called me. Startin’ to freak out about your workout schedule, she said.”_ There was a pause as Gavin shuffled over to the coffee pot and started a brew. Not the best thing to pair with restlessness, but when you had a fuckin’ truckload of insomnia, what else were you supposed to do? _“She’s not the only one who’s noticed you actin’ weird, Gavin. You off your meds, kid?”_

Ugh. Hank was calling him Gavin. It must be bad.

“Fucking- _No_ , I’m not off my meds! Look, like I told Ti,” Gavin said, pouring himself a mug of coffee and taking a sip. He crossed over to his fridge and took out some eggs, as well as a few other ingredients. He stood on his tiptoes to get a frying pan down from the top shelf. Before he started making himself breakfast, he stopped to feed Trashcan, who was sleeping in the living room. As he cooked, he continued, “I don’t need the two of you worrying over me. I’m fine. Give it through this weekend, and I’ll be fine.”

_“Uh-huh. And what makes you say that?”_

A flush danced across Gavin’s face and he grinned a little. “You really don’t want to know.”

_“You going out of town with your brother this weekend? Don’t be getting into too many fights, Gavin. You both get a bit out of control.”_

He snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, I’m seeing my brother this weekend. Amongst _other_ people.”

Hank couldn’t see the eyebrow waggle he did to insinuate inappropriate meanings, but the long drag of silence that followed informed him Hank had caught it anyway. _“Jesus, kid, I didn’t need to know that.”_

Gavin burst into laughter as he took his breakfast off of the stove. “I told you so, you old fuck.”

_“You’re such a little shit, Gavin.”_

“Don’t I know it?”

_“Well, look, Tina just wanted me to check in. So, if things don’t change after this weekend, you and I are gonna have some words and figure shit out, got it?”_

“Yeah, yeah, I fucking got it, thanks _Dad_.” Gavin brought his breakfast over to the counter where his phone sat.

He could almost _hear_ Hank roll his eyes. _“Whatever. I’ll talk to you this weekend, kid.”_

The call ended and Gavin ate his breakfast. If Richard wasn’t going to call him, then fucking fine. He had already called up his usual dom, Andy, and they’d set up some time for Saturday night after Gavin got off of work. Give it a few days, and he would be perfectly fine.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When this fic hits 100 pages (it's at 92 right now), I'm going to start a D:BH drabble fic! Any ship, any prompt! I'm accepting them starting now. :D Send them in at:
> 
> Tumblr: shimmeringswift.tumblr.com  
> Twitter: @swiftiewrites
> 
> Or comment down below! 
> 
> My tumblr also tends to have sneak peeks and my thoughts while I'm writing! So, if you want to ask me about the story or my thoughts on anything, just hit me up there! <3


	3. I'm Stuck; You've Caught Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emotion twisted inside of Gavin’s gut. His face contorted into a grimace as sensation crawled down his spine. He needed this. He needed this. But this wasn’t right. It wasn’t fucking right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skip the warnings if you don't want minor spoilers for this chapter.
> 
> Warnings: nudity, swearing, non-explicit sexual scene, safewording, panic attacks, self-hatred, insecurities, 
> 
> Music for this chapter:  
> TALK ME DOWN // troye sivan lyrics : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ_Z_73RDZM

_“I want you to count them.”_

The words replayed through his mind as the whip cracked down across his back. A cry of pain burst through his mouth and he fumbled to say the number. Andy was merciless in his strikes against Gavin’s back. Emotion twisted inside of Gavin’s gut. His face contorted into a grimace as sensation crawled down his spine. He needed this. He _needed_ this. But this wasn’t right. It wasn’t fucking right.

Gavin’s body rocked with each strike. His hands curled around the ropes holding his wrists tight against Andy’s headboard. He needed this release so bad, he _needed_ this, he needed to slip into subspace and get lost and drift. Why wasn’t he slipping? Why wasn’t it working? This wasn’t right.

_“Sh… I’ve got you.”_

Richard’s words echoed through his ears and crawled down his spine. They were the words he’d spent many lonely nights jacking off too. His mind started to spiral downwards, into an unfamiliar headspace as Richard’s warm voice flooded his ears. The words were coming from every direction, slamming down hard and ruthless. The memory of that one fucking night all those weeks ago.

_“I think you’re forgetting who’s really in charge here, sweetheart.”_

_“You’ll learn the hard way how I get my subs to behave.”_

_“That’s not how we ask for things, is it?”_

_“I was hoping you would say that.”_

_“Who says I can’t do both?”_

_“You don’t have to beg.” Richard’s smirk was dark and menacing. “You just have to ask **nicely**.”_

_“Good boy.”_

He was so fucking pathetic. He’d gotten stuck on some stupid fucking prick who clearly didn’t want anything more than a fucking one night stand, contrary to what he had fucking said. Gavin was so fucking needy and whiny and bratty. He’d probably fucking scared the guy off with the way he’d behaved and why was he always fucking like this- He was a sub that no dom really wanted to stick with, just someone to get their rocks off once and-

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. Why was he so stuck on Richard? Why did Richard have to be so fucking good? Why did he have to give off such fucking good dom vibes? Fuck, he needed to- He couldn’t keep going in circles like this, this was getting bad- He couldn’t breathe- He had to- Why was this so difficult? He need to stop, to get out, to just fucking breathe. _This was too fucking much-_

“Andy!” His voice caught in his throat, “Berlin! Berlin!”

All movement ceased immediately.

His hands were untied and he was rolled onto his back gently. Andy took a seat beside him on the bed, still dressed in only his sweatpants. Gavin’s heart raced and his hands shook. He shook his head back and forth, holding his hands out to keep Andy at a distance. “I can’t- I can’t fucking-”

“Gavin, are you having a panic attack?” Andy asked, his voice soft as he scooted closer to Gavin. Spiders crawled under his skin and the beige walls whirled around him. Dizziness slammed into him and Gavin desperately reached out for Andy, something to stabilize him. He nodded once and regretted the movement as the spinning of the room got worse. He squeezed his eyes shut and let himself be maneuvered into Andy’s lap.

Warm. Warm. Warm.

He was sideways in Andy’s lap now. Andy pushed Gavin’s head down against his chest. The familiar _ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum_ of Andy’s heart rang in his ears. The slow raise and lift of Andy’s chest was paired with the heartbeat and Andy counting out breaths for him. “Just ride it out, Gavin. I’ve got you. You’re okay.”

It took what felt like hours for Gavin to finally calm down. Andy rocked him back and forth, gently stroking his hair. Gavin puffed out a long breath, rubbing his hand along Andy’s arm. His words came out through pants. “I’m okay now, I’m okay.”

Andy’s grip loosened around him. “Do you want some water? Or some food, maybe? We should probably get your blood sugar back up.”

“I have a protein bar in my bag I can eat later. Want some water though.”

Andy shifted Gavin to lay back against the pillows as he reached for the water bottle he always kept on the nightstand. The water bottle was passed to Gavin, who opened it and chugged down the water. A slow ache of a migraine started to settle in. Andy moved closer to Gavin, combing a hand through his blonde hair. “Want to talk about what caused it?

“It’s stupid.” Gavin mumbled, casting his gaze away from Andy.

“Clearly, it’s not, if it caused you to safe word out of a scene, Gavin.” Andy’s tone was concerned, but firm. “Talk to me.”

“It’s this guy.” Gavin swallowed, reaching down off the side of the bed to grab his sweatpants as a chill set in. He pulled them on awkwardly, not willing to get up from the bed. “We hooked up at a work thing and he was… my dream dom, and dream guy, y’know?” He paused and looked back up at Andy, who had a small smile on his face. “No offense, or anything.”

“None taken. I get it.” Andy shifted to sit crisscross. “I didn’t exactly think our arrangement would be permanent, Gavin. You didn’t either. So, what’s the deal with this guy then?”

Gavin sighed and bit his lip. “We hooked up a month ago. He never fucking called. I don’t have his number. But, it’s like I’m on fucking drugs, man. I can’t sleep, I’m so fuckin’ restless. Even after my outing with my brother today, shit we even have another tomorrow, which normally fucking helps, only made it ten times fucking worse and why the fuck can’t this guy just call me?”

Andy laughed, lifting his hands in defense when Gavin glared at him. “Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. But, it’s cute to see you so caught up on someone Gavin. Look, don’t you have police friends? Maybe one of them could look him up for you?”

With a shrug, Gavin crossed his arms. “I guess.”

“C’mon, let’s go take a shower. I still owe you an orgasm. Then, we can go cuddle on the couch and watch The Little Mermaid.” Andy stood from the bed with a grin. “Don’t give me that look. I get you all night. So, we’re going to do some nice fun aftercare, then watch Disney movies until we fall asleep. Got it?”

With a sharp laugh, Gavin mock-saluted. “Yessir!”

 

 

“Good morning, Mr. Weatherford. A little birdy told me that you haven’t been behaving yourself.” The words taunted, echoing through the empty warehouse. At least, Isaiah thought it was a warehouse. His eyelids were so heavy, but he struggled to open them anyway. Ache strained his arms from how they were tied behind his back and to the chair he was sitting in. He was tied at the ankles too. Spots and stars of black and yellow filled his vision as he tried to locate the source of the voice. “Mr. Kamski isn’t happy with you.”

Standing against a column to his right stood a man with a white mask that extended from the collar of his shirt to above his nose, scooping just below his eyes. The mask wasn’t plain white, however. There was the design of some demented form of wolf snout airbrushed across it. The mask hooked up over the man’s ears as well. Hanging from his waistband was a set of goggles with a pair of white ears attached at the top, almost comically. In his hand, the man twirled a knife, flashes of silver glinting from the small amount of light available in the warehouse. It spun between his fingers with astonishing precision.

The White Wolf. _Kamski’s_ White Wolf.

Isaiah was a dead man. He swallowed hard, adjusting against his restraints as he tried to keep the quiver out of his voice. “A-Are you going to kill me?”

“Maybe.” The knife stilled. “We’ll have to see what the boss says.”

The White Wolf motioned towards a table pressed against the wall that Isaiah hadn’t noticed because of the dim lighting. “But, until I get his call, I guess we can have a little fun, can’t we? After all, you were the one who told Amanda Stern about the prosthetic thirium components, weren’t you? The one who told her all of the nasty little ways to manipulate and abuse the thirium we so _graciously_ gifted her. I worked so. Fucking. Hard. On that thirium, and here you are, ruining it for everyone. You’re in trouble now, Mr. Weatherford.”

The knife was launched across the room, slamming into the bar of the wooden chair just below Isaiah’s armpit. “You’ve made quite the mess, Isaiah. And now, I get to clean it up. After making a mess of my own, of course.”

 

 

“Gavin, come on, we need to start the stream!” Tina called from the streaming room down the hallway. “You said three o’clock. It’s already five after, you dipshit.”

“Give me a minute, bitch. I’m making us some coffee!” Gavin rolled his eyes, filling their two mugs. One of the mugs said: ModBitchQueen and the other said CaptainDipshit in sparkly pink letters. One of the fans had mailed them to the P.O. box he’d set up at the post office (after much begging from his fans). He picked up his phone, tucking it into the pocket of his gray sweatpants. Well, they were Richard’s gray sweatpants, but the asshole wasn’t going to be getting them back anytime soon.

He brought the two mugs into the streaming room, adjusting in his Captain Dipshit hoodie with the ‘Dance-Gavin-Dance’ emote on the back. Tina was spinning in her chair, the one on the left. He snorted and set the mugs on two coasters on the desk. He sat in his own chair.

“Hey, so, before we start,” Tina waggled her eyebrows, using her foot to stop the chair from spinning. “How did things go with Andy?”

Gavin groaned, dragging his hands down over his face.

“Did they really go that bad? I thought it was supposed to help you unwind.”

He sighed, letting his hands fall away as he pulled up the streaming programs. “It was fine, and Andy was great as always. But, I had to- Well, I safe-worded out.”

When he turned to face Tina, she was studying him. Her expression was soft, pulling tight around the corners of her brown eyes with concern. She tugged at her customized hoodie, drawing her knees to her chest and grabbing her coffee mug. “Mind if I ask why?”

“God, Ti, I’m so pathetic.” Gavin hung his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “I kept thinking of Richard, and it’s been a whole fucking month. Clearly, this guy doesn’t want to see me again, but I’m hooked on him and I just- I couldn’t fucking stop thinking about him while Andy and I were in the middle of a scene and I-” He sighed. “I had a panic attack in the middle of a scene and had to safe-word. Thank fucking God Andy and I have known each other for so long and he knew what to do.”

He reached forward and turned on the stream playlist, keeping the volume low. “I feel so pathetic for being caught up on this guy, my fucking dream dom, who doesn’t want anything to do with me, y’know? He just gave off like really fucking good dom vibes and I just-” Gavin let out a noise of frustration. “I haven’t had a real relationship in so long, and I don’t know, maybe I fucking thought something might actually happen. But I was clearly fucking wrong.”

“Jesus, Gavin.” Tina exhaled a long breath, combing a strand of dark hair from her face. “I think you’ve done everything you can. It’s okay to feel like that, you know? I’m proud of you for recognizing it, and for safe-wording. Safe-wording is so hard to do and well, you did good by doing it. Andy’s always been a good guy, and I’m glad he was able to help you. You deserve to be happy, Gavin. And how you get there? That’s up to you, my friend. I just want to see you do good and-”

Tina was cut off by the shrill ring of Gavin’s cell phone. They both paused and he pulled his phone out from his pocket. He glanced down at the screen before looking back up at his best friend. “Unknown number. Mind if I?”

She waved her hand. “Go ahead. You’ll hear my bullshit rambles one way or another.”

He answered the call. “This is Gavin Reed. To whom am I speaking?”

_“Would you look at that, you do have manners.”_

A flush spread across his face and his eyes widened. Speak of the devil and he shall come. Tina knitted her eyebrows together and mouthed, ‘Who is it?’

“Richard?” Gavin swallowed. “It’s, uh, been a while.”

“Yeah, over a whole fucking month.” Tina snorted. Gavin waved his hand at her, motioning for her to _shut her fucking mouth_.

_“I do apologize for that. I was off in England for two weeks with my elder brother. Then, when I returned, the monumental stacks of paperwork awaiting me have taken up every spare moment of time I have had at my disposal. It’s inexcusable, of course, making you wait so long to receive my call. Should we choose to pursue anything, this will not happen again, I assure you.”_

Gavin sucked in a sharp breath, biting down into his lip. Hard. “Fuck, so… you want to pursue something?”

_“I did say there were endless amounts of things I wanted to do you, did I not?”_ The question was a seductive purr. _“The first one being remedying your language.”_

“Phckin’ hell.” Gavin breathed out. Tina raised her eyebrows at him, amused. “I don’t think you’ll be very successful at that.”

_“I’ll just have to keep you until I am, then.”_

Something reached inside of Gavin’s chest, grabbed, and fucking _twisted_. He needed to be fucking careful or he would have an awkward boner situation on his hands. Right before a fucking stream too. Tina winked at him and whipped out her phone. Presumably, she was tweeting the Gavcats about a delay in the stream.

_“If you’re up for it, that is.”_

“That sounds like a fucking challenge.”

There was a low chuckle. _“I suppose it is. You said it yourself, you are quite the challenge.”_

“Fucking asshole.”

_“Language, sweetheart.”_ Mirth dripped through Richard’s voice. The way he said ‘sweetheart’ sent chills racing down Gavin’s spine. That was his motherfucking bedroom voice. The asshole.

_“Don’t fucking ‘sweetheart’ me,_ _you dick! Not in your fucking bedroom voice!_ ” He hissed into the phone. Tina looked up at him so fucking fast she probably gave herself whiplash. A grin spread across her face. Gavin’s face was scarlet. “Jesus. I’m not- I’m not fucking alone, Richard. Maybe I’m not the one that needs to fucking behave.”

Richard fucking chuckled. _“I sincerely doubt that, darling. But, I will stop teasing you for now. I would like to see you soon, however, and I certainly plan to tease you then. Do you have plans tomorrow evening? I would love to take you out for dinner.”_

“Tomorrow evening?” He looked at Tina, scrunching up his face. He mouthed at her, ‘Do we have plans?’ She shook her head. “I don’t have plans. If you text me the address, I’ll meet you there.”

_“No, sweetheart,”_ The sexy, scary, dom voice was back. He could envision those steely blue-grey eyes that went with it. A shudder ran down his spine. _“Text me your address and I’ll pick **you** up.”_

“O-Okay.” He swallowed.

Richard chuckled again. _“I’ll see you tomorrow at seven, Gavin.”_

The call ended. Gavin set his phone on the desk, gaping like a fish. “Tina, I have a fucking date tomorrow. I have a fucking date tomorrow. I haven’t been on a fucking date in so long. What the fuck am I going to wear?”

Tina grinned and pressed a button on the computer, launching the stream. “We’ll ask the Gavcats for help.”

“Tina, no.”

“Tina, yes!” She spun around in her chair to face the camera. “You guys! Hello! Fun news: Gavin has a date tomorrow!”

_dipshitqueen: a date?_

_gavinisgay: fuck yeah he does_

_fucktheknights: is it with Nines?_

“Yeah, Gavcats, Gavin has a date with the mysterious Nines tomorrow!” Tina spun her chair again. “I was thinking about switching to mobile cam, so we could help him pick out some clothing to wear tomorrow night.”

_lastpieceofpie: we get to work out fandom magic, I see_

_beattheheat: clothing is my jam_

_beattheheat: lesssgo_

Tina laughed, pulling out her cell phone. “Okay, here we go.”

“Apparently I don’t get any fucking say?”

“Nope!”

 

“Kamski, it’s done.”

_“Good, because I have another job for you.”_

“At least don’t give me fucking Allen this time. Guy’s a motherfucking dick.”

A soft chuckle. _“I’ll see what I can do.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I want your input!!!
> 
> For Part 3 of the series with the big date: sex scene, or no sex scene?
> 
> If you say sex scene, I would really like some input and suggestions!

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on tumblr at Shimmeringswift! I post excerpts, songs, and all sorts of other fun shit. Hit me up with some questions and comments! I'd love to chat with you guys! My twitter is @swiftiewrites! I'd love to hear from you!
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are appreciated!
> 
> Also! What are some things you guys would like to see in this series?


End file.
